Handpicked for unforgettable mornings
A locally owned counter tucked into a Waikiki lower level, built on acai and waffles made to order. Nothing carries fillers or added juice, there is a small superfoods bar for building your own bowl, and the walls are covered in photographs of regulars. Get an acai bowl and a waffle to split.
A bright, welcoming café in Kapahulu that does brunch better than most. The loco moco is a crowd favorite every single morning.
A polished Kakaako café with excellent espresso and a brunch menu that earns its following. Clean, minimal space; maximally good flat whites.
An Aiea cafe running Portuguese tarts and house-fried gyoza off one counter. Chelsea runs the room, which is cat-themed and unembarrassed about it, and the portions land well past what the price suggests. Get the house fried gyoza, with a Portuguese tart after.
A coffee nerd's room in the middle of downtown. Drip Studio pours single origins from small independent roasters, DAK among them, dials in every pour over, and cares about the ceramic it lands in. Order a pour over and take the bar seat.
A female-owned coffee stand built around house-made syrups. The list runs further than most on Kapahulu — local honey matcha, honey cinnamon latte, mint ginger lemonade — and the baristas are the reason people come back. Go for the local honey matcha.
An ice cream shop that is also a surf and skate shop, which in Kailua tracks. Jo and Kyle Wai Lin moved over from the Bay Area and opened in November 2024, churning sixteen flavors in Kailua on seasonal local ingredients, with affogatos pulled on Tradition Coffee Roasters espresso. Get the matcha soft serve — it runs deep without turning bitter.
A cat café with serious desserts in Liliha. Hang out with resident cats over some of the most photogenic soft serve and parfaits in the city.
A small coffee room on Queen Street in Kakaako. No gimmick attached — just a carefully made cup on a block that is mostly offices and scaffolding. Go for a straight espresso drink.
A warm, welcoming coffee shop on the North Shore road. Great beans, friendly baristas, and a pace of life that slows you right down.
Coconut-based soft serve that never reads as a compromise. This Hawaiian-owned Moiliili parlour makes everything dairy-free and rotates four flavors a week through ube, pandan and coconut. Get it as the hot kulolo sauce sundae.
A syrup company that grew into a Chinatown coffee shop. Peter Hessler and Michael Cabagbag whisk the matcha by hand and make the syrups in house — the Matcha Manako runs li hing mui and mango under li hing powder — and the walls stay given over to local artists. Try the Hapa Honey Matcha.
Named for the architect Tadao Ando, and the room takes that seriously. This Kailua tea and coffee bar sources its matcha directly from Shizuoka and built the coffee program with barista Kal Freese; there is a garden patio out back modeled on places in Tokyo. Get the matcha latte.
A North Shore bakery producing some of the finest pies in Hawaii. The lilikoi cream pie and the guava chiffon are worth the drive from town.
A minimalist bakery in Kaimuki producing some of the most technically impressive pastries in Honolulu. The croissants and financiers are not to be missed.
A warm, light-filled brunch café in Kakaako that feels like a hug. The menu is comfort-forward, the coffee is excellent, and the staff remember your name.
Two Alan Wong alumni who decided breakfast deserved dinner-level attention. Nik and Jennifer Lobendahn opened in Kailua in 2016 and build the menu on OK Farms eggs — the kalua pig hash arrives with Okinawan potatoes and lomi tomato. Order the crispy-edged pancakes with blueberry cream cheese.
A Chinatown bakery with forty years behind it before the current owners arrived. Wesley and Jie Mei Fang came from Guangdong and took it over in 2008, keeping the har gow and manapua in-house on family recipes while adding mochi mooncakes and crack seed. Try the half moon — the one most visitors walk straight past.
A Filipino café in Iwilei bringing the comfort of Pinoy home cooking to Honolulu. The sinigang and crispy pata are made with real love.
Maui's most decorated shave ice, brought over to Kapahulu. David and Ululani Yamashiro opened a 65-square-foot stand in Lahaina in 2008 and had to double it within three months; this is the brand's first Oahu shop. Ask for a snow cap and ice cream underneath.
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